As the West Ham press box was quieter than normal for the Carling Cup match against Sheffield United last night I managed to get an invite for the press box to cover the match for WHTID. I guess I will now need to pay for my supper of Pie and Chips I enjoyed in the press room before kick off by filing some kind of match report.
It was my first time in the West Ham press box for many years and I forgot how soulless the place is with total lack of atmosphere, you almost feel embarrassed clapping good play or celebrating a goal in their place of work. We are always led to believe the media is full of West Ham supporters. Well if they are they keep their emotions well in truly in check during the match. That is to expected, I suppose. They are there to work, after all
When the team sheets were given out, the team looked impressive on paper with a blend of talented youngsters, experienced first teamers and new signings which should have been enough to overcome Sheffield United.
The Sun newspaper billed the game as a £260m grudge match but this never really never materialised and the number of Tevez masks worn by fans could be counted on two hands. Songs of ”There is only one Carlos Tevez’ and ’Where’s your money gone? Wheres your money gone?’ quickly disappeared a few minutes after kick off .
We dominated possession in the first half and Sheffield United never really looked like scoring from open play last night. The biggest danger came from set pieces but our defence dealt with them too with Reece Burke having a tremendous game and certainly one name for the future. Danny Potts had a good game too while Demel delivered his normal steady performance. The shock to me was Winston Reid. He seemed off his game and was a strange choice as captain. He had a few lapses of concentration where he was dispossessed and ultimately his own goal cost us the game although I am not sure what he knew about it as it bounced off his ankle. For a guy who wants to play for a top six club and who turned down £60,000 per week I expected more to be honest. Maybe his mind was elsewhere or maybe it was just an off game.
In midfield Ricardo Vaz Te was his useful ineffective self and didn’t warrant being on the pitch. Inexplicably Sam left it until the 79th minute before replacing him with Mauro Zarate, who ran his socks off but couldn’t finish. That didn’t stop the fans singing his name for the closing stages of the game. Ravel Morrison was a disappointment too. He looked rusty and didn’t feature for the first 20 minutes. His one moment of glory was a curling free kick which well saved by Howard, but minutes later he was booked for diving and was missing for much of the remainder of the game. In true Rav style he wore gloves for the first half of the match (in August!) before they mysteriously disappeared for the second half. He was replaced by Mark Noble in the 8th minute of extra time but it was too late for him to have much effect. Diego Poyet showed he could mix it with the rest and looked an excellent prospect, although he was muscled off the ball too easily a couple of times.
Up front our summer record signing Enner Valencia disappointed me. We have been told his contribution will be in short bursts but we expected his finishing would be clinical. He showed he could get into the right positions, but his final touch let him down and he shot too often at keeper Howard. I did find it strange that a player who was not yet match fit having previously played 7 minutes in a Hammers shier was allowed to play 120 minutes. It was therefore entirely predictable that Valencia would be the one to have his penalty saved and send us crashing out of the Carling Cup 5-4 on penalties.
Diafra Sakho on the other hand looked a right handful, showing great physical presence and skill.On most other nights Sakho’s goal would have been enough to see off the league one opposition. Sakho could be the bargain buy of the summer and I look forward to seeing more of him in action. The loss on penalties left many Hammers fans deflated but there is no need to panic just yet.
All of this having been said, the basic truth is that on the night the assembled cup team should still have been strong enough to overcome Sheffield United, but luck was not on our side. As the saying goes you make your own luck in life, so with poor luck with both Spurs and Sheffield United it must be own turn soon!
The attendance at Boleyn was announced as 28,930, which is impressive for a first round of the cup although many decided to turn up at the last minute, meaning long queues, which meant many missed kick off. I didn’t get home until 1am this morning having waited for the manager’s post match interviews back in the press room You can find clips from the press interviews below.